DIVERSITY

Salesforce staff mirrors others

San Francisco's Salesforce.com is a philanthropic leader in the region, and has led the charge trying to address poverty and the wealth divide.

But its workforce isn't very diverse - it's about on par with the rest of the tech industry, which means that it is dominated by white males. What Salesforce is doing that most other tech companies aren't is documenting this on its website.

The figures reflect those of most of the tech industry, with the workforce 67 percent white and just 29 percent female. Only 2 percent of Salesforce workers are black and 4 percent are Latino.

Salesforce says it is posting the figures because it knows "it takes a variety of different backgrounds, beliefs, and interests to create a more human and connected workplace, and we are committed to building diverse employee communities in our offices around the world."

HOUSING

Builders have high confidence

Builders' confidence in the housing market rose this month to the highest level since January, reflecting an increase in sales of new homes and heightened expectations for sales the second half of the year.

The brighter sales outlook suggests home construction could pick up after a sluggish start this year.

Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. The latest reading is the first above 50 since January, when it was 56.

Builders' view of current sales conditions for single-family homes, their outlook for sales over the next six months and traffic by prospective buyers each increased since June.

The index is based on responses from 241 builders.

Economists say there is significant pent-up demand for homes as many potential buyers put off purchases over the past few years because of concerns about the economy.

ECONOMY

Producer prices inch up in June

Rising gasoline costs pushed up the prices companies receive for their goods and services in June, but overall inflation remains tame.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that the producer price index, which measures the cost of goods and services before they reach the consumer, rose 0.4 percent last month. The increase follows a 0.2 percent decrease in May.

Consumer prices have tended to track the costs for producers. They rose in May in response to food and energy costs increasing earlier in the year for wholesalers.

EXECUTIVES

Ex-Ford CEO to Google board

Mulally, who was appointed July 9, will serve on Google's audit committee, the Mountain View company said. He will receive an initial grant of $1 million in Google stock, an annual equity award of $350,000 with a $75,000 cash retainer and reimbursement of expenses.

His appointment to Google's board is less than two months after the technology company unveiled the latest prototype of its self-driving car. Mulally stepped down from Ford on July 1, six months earlier than expected to make way for successor Mark Fields.

"This is really an inspired move," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean of the Yale University School of Management. "Mulally has a great deal to bring to Google. He's an engineer's engineer who has a great feel for consumer product innovation. This is a way to let us know that there's no limit to the scope and scale of where Google is going."

EARNINGS

BofA profit hit by legal costs

Bank of America said Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings were hit by $4 billion in litigation expenses.

The bank earned $2 billion (19 cents per share) in the second quarter after payments to preferred shareholders, compared with $3.6 billion (32 cents) in the same period last year, a decline of 43 percent.

Revenue fell 4 percent to $21.9 billion from $22.9 billion.

The bank also said that it had reached a $650 million settlement with American International Group Inc. to resolve residential mortgage-backed securities litigation between the two companies.

Like its competitors, Bank of America is still dealing with the fallout from the financial crisis and the subsequent collapse of the housing market. However, unlike JPMorgan and Citigroup, BofA has yet to settle a federal investigation into its handling of risky subprime mortgages.